Writing from Realty and Dreaming
I've spoken about it before, but using your dreams to help inspire your next story can bring a thought or idea to the next level.
That's exactly what I did when real life experiences I had turned into a dream. Usually I like to write using my Random Generator Short Short Challenge to push the story along but I didn't feel this story needed it. Instead of you wondering what I'm going on about, how about you jump into the story.
"Welcome to Metaire Hospital Cemetery, home to those who didn't have the privilege to escape the confides of their hospital bed and instead lay buried and forgotten with the thousands more who rest here," the tour guide swiveled, arm extended to the hospital standing stories tall in the distance.
I rolled my eyes and kicked the dirt beneath my feet. My mother eyeing me as to tell me to knock it off. But it was because of her and my father that we were here in the first place. I don't ever remember a time we hadn't gone somewhere new and the first stop wasn't a history tour through the closet cemetery. At the age of 12, I'd come to realize there was more to life than death, but my parents didn't seem to get it. Instead of relaxing by the beach or going to the new brunch place everyone was raving about we were here listening to another tour guide ramble on about a dead person who was probably haunting the halls of the abandoned hospital.
My shoe scuffed the ground again, this time a little louder than before. My father turned this time with a more stern look than my mother had given me. "Go," he mouthed.
More and more these days they were letting me wonder off on my own instead of being tortured by the speeches the guides had to know by heart to earn a pay check. Today, he'd let me go early which meant I had 45 minutes to do as I pleased.
As the group moved forward, I held back eyeing the hospital. Even though the early morning light was giving warmth to the thousands of graves surrounding the property, the hospital felt cold and withdrawn, it's brick hidden between the shadow of oak trees. Due to my mother pleas this morning, my skin glistened under the sun from the layers of sun screen plastered on my porcelain skin. The protection wasn't going to help from the rays high tempts of over 100 degrees the last few weeks.
I watched as the group carried on along the path ahead but the shade of the trees was calling my name. I turned, and followed.
Passing grave after grave I noted the names of the ones resting six feet below. Many older names such as Edgar or Meredith seemed to be common. I turned the water fan that was strung around my neck blasting my face as drops of sweat began to form on my upper lip the more I climbed toward the hospital. To anyone else, I might look a little dorky always carrying this thing around my neck, but it's saved my life a time or two and today would be no different.
The whirl of the fan pushed me forward, the hospital looking less grand the closer I got. At a distance it seemed put together, the intricate details lined within the architecture prominent, but now, I could see the dry cracks spreading throughout. Windows boarded up to keep others out and the foundation crumbling at the base. To many this would say stay out while to others this was a welcoming call, one that wasn't calling me now.
"Just a bit further," I could feel the bead of sweat running down my back as I turned on the final path leading me to the shade I felt I deserved.
"Whoa," I called, jumping back.
Hidden behind a large grave stone blocking my view to the entrance of the path sat a little girl. "You scared me."
She glanced up through the strands of hair covering her face, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Before I could say anything else she looked back down to the game of jacks sitting in front of her, scooping them up.
The girl was no more than five or six years old with her floor cotton dress smudged with dirt from the ground. I mimicked her and sat cross legged a little jealous she was sitting in the shade while I sat fully in the sun. "Where's your mom or dad?" I asked looking around for some adults.
"Daddy's working," she leaned placing a cheek in the palm of her hand.
"Oh your daddy works here then," this time I picked up the jax tossing them to the ground.
"He owns the place," she replied her eyes darting from the game to my hand and back to the game.
"Shoot," I missed picking the last of them up in time. "Well that's cool, I guess. What's your name?"
"Maddy," she replied both her hands falling into her lap, "What's yours?"
"I'm Jen, short for Jennifer."
"I have a friend named Jennifer. We like to play dolls together sometimes."
"That's fun. Do you have a favorite doll?" I asked and looked around again wondering where her father could be. My parents had just started letting me wonder off but a young girl like this shouldn't be by herself. What if something happened to her?
"Yeah her name is Amelia. Do you want to come see her? Amelia has a really pretty purple dress daddy got her a couple of days ago. She's just in the house over there."
The little girl pointed to the keeper's house past the hospital through the shadowy path, sitting on the opposite side. The house itself was quaint but one that could hold a small family. "Maybe another time. My mom and dad will probably be looking for me anyways." I stood wiping dirt off my pants. The little girl doing the same.
On the top of the hill I could see the group around the corner meandering through the many paths the cemetery held a little further down.
"Jen!" My dad called as if on que when he spotted the two of us, motioning me back toward them. I went to take a step back and in doing so saw the little girl's arm shoot out toward mine. My other hand flew up snatching hers before she could grab mine, "Not so fast now are we?"
I could tell Maddy's eyes were shocked through the strands of hair at my quickness but then suddenly turned angry at my comment.
You see, when my parents and I were called to extract a supernatural entity off the property we'd narrowed it down to either a vampire or shadow demon from the details the groundkeeper had told us. Apparently, many children had gone missing over the few years by wandering off, or of teenagers finding the fun in trespassing. Many people had sited reports of a little girl walking the property at night in a floral cotton dress on several occasions, but nothing ever came of it. It was when the mayor's niece had gone missing a few weeks ago we got the call when they heard we were in town.
The plan was easy and one we'd preformed often. Pretend to be part of the tour group and wander off. Get the entities' attention and keep them busy, just like I was doing now.
When I'd first laid eyes on the girl, I was certain she wasn't a vampire, and now as I gripped her arm I was extra sure. My sunscreen was laced with garlic which kept us from being bitten. It reeked which is why you could always find us in the back of any group or getting glares from others from the smell. But, now I could see the little girl wasn't withering in pain to it's essence.
"The purple dress was a nice touch I have to say," my grip still firmly on her arm. The little girl swung her other arm out reaching for mine again in an attempt to pull me forward. Instead, I grabbed for my water fan and hit the button. The whirl of the fan rang out as water shot into her face. Screams escaped her mouth as the holy water that was splattering her skin burned her face. With my grip still tight I took a step back and yanked. Her leaving the shadows and joining me in the sunlight.
"NO, NO, NO!" The demon shouted, the form of a girl dissolving. I hit the button again this time not taking my finger off. The sound of the fan's whizzing mutteled over the cries. I counted, "One, two, three," and released my grip. Just in time for the girl to exploded into a cloud of dust. "Ew," I waved around my face not wanting inhale the dust. Shadow demons, depending on the age of the creature, were usually easy to deal with. In this case, a demon only a few years old taking on the shape of a little girl to lure other children to their demise. They must stick to the shadows never stepping into the light otherwise they would disintegrate to dust. A quick dose of holy water always helps throw them off balance if they try to go for you. This shadow demon was more aggressive than anticipated, but it wasn't anything new I hadn't handled before.
I looked around to make sure there wasn't another one lurking in the shadows somewhere. If there was, it would most likely leave the cemetery once night settled since the site had been infiltrated by hunters.
Back down the path I found the group wrapping up. My father wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed. My mother took my hand in hers. They both still worried when I went off on my own but they were coming around to the idea more and more.
"See anything scary out there," he asked under his breath.
"Just my horrible jax skills," I tossed a jax in the air. "For the groundskeeper."
I handed it to my mother who would give it to the groundkeeper or probably even the mayor as evidence. The tour guide concluded their speech and the group began to disband.
"Can we not work for once on vacation?" I asked them both as we walked to the car. It was our first day in New Orleans and a vacation I was looking forward to for awhile now.
"I promise that's it for this trip, Jen. Honey, where did I put the keys?" my father patted down his pockets. But in a city so focused around death I was certain that wouldn't be my last run in with a shadow demon.
Final Thoughts
How did you like the story?! This is one I had dreamt of right after my trip to New Orleans where we'd walked a few cemeteries ourselves. None contain demons or vampires, but there were some pretty cool tombs. But I did dream of a demon girl outside of a hospital surrounded by graves. And that's where I got the story idea from.
I hope you liked it as much as I loved writing it(twist endings are my favorite!). Don't forget to subscribe to get the latest notifications on new posts or leave a comment below. As always,
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